Tags:
Hi Holly! A good place to start is our Chaser Guides. Click here for Rogers Centre. Enjoy your trip!
Hi Holly,
We just went up to Toronto in April and stopped by a few pre/post game hangouts. My recommendations would be:
If you want food - The Loose Moose. We ate here after the game and the food was the best of our trip I would say. Also, if you happen to be there on a Sunday, they have $3 Caesars which my wife loved but I can't force one down.
If you want beer - Steam Whistle Brewery. Behind the Rogers Centre, this brewery is in an old roundhouse and they keep it simple. The only beer they brew is a pilsner, although if you ask you can sample their experimental unfiltered brew. Cans were $4 a piece and drafts were $6 but samples are free. If you want to take a tour, you can do that too but if you have been on any brewery tour, theirs is nothing special. It is packed with Jays fans but easy to get service.
Others - Real Sports was cool to check out, but food/drink wise I'd go back to Loose Moose over RS.
Jack Astor's which is around the corner from Loose Moose is also decent, they have a nice patio to hang out on.
I would agree there is nothing in the stadium worth sampling. It is on the bottom of my list for food offerings at the stadiums I have visited.
There is also Airport Express bus service, which is cheaper than a taxi, and will stop at several major hotels and POI downtown.
Food in the stadium - there are some decent offerings on the 100 level. You can bring many food items in. I always bring in my own bottle of water or pop. Check out the bluejays.com site and click on Rogers Centre to find out what is allowed. It is one of the more permissive places in terms of what you can bring in that I have found in the majors.
We actually flew into the small airport in the city - Toronto City/Billy Bishop. The catch is you have to fly Porter Airlines in there from the US and they only service Newark, Boston, Chicago, and Washington DC year-round. You can also take Air Canada and connect in Montreal but that is a little out of the way. This was very convenient for us because it was cheaper than flying into Pearson, a taxi to our hotel was only $15, and from landing to being at the taxi stand took all of 20 minutes. However, a majority of people from the US will find it more convenient to go non-stop to Pearson which I can't offer any advice on. If you decide on taking a taxi, I will say they were clean, safe, and reliable.
Tried the Loose Moose. Good selection of beer and food, but pricey like all of Toronto. Okay rating 3 out of 5 for me regarding food. Stadium was sooo clean. It was like a mall and nothing spectacular as far as food but a lot of choices. was surprised by the market area with fresh fruit, yogurt, etc. I did have a fresh grilled burger at the stadium with a large self help "fixins" station. This was a great spot.
I just spend a week in NYC so I feel your pain about prices! The problem with staying right downtown is everything is expensive, unfortunately. Toronto is a pretty clean city all around, and I'm glad you enjoyed the ballpark. Agree on the food inside being good but nothing to rock your world. It is getting better, but nothing like the choices I found when I went to Washington or even Detroit. Hope you come back again soon!
just so chaser fans know, in october 2014 there is a planned start of service, go transit a 1 seat 2 stop ride direct from pearson to union station. it's on track to open on time, a lit of the trackwork is already done, and they were working on signals and the pearson station as of april. the first stop will be where it crosses the subway and the 2nd stop inbound will be union station, walking ditance from rogers centre and many downtown hotels. this has caused me to postpone until next year my toronto trip
Great info...thanks for posting Gary!
Gary - service is going to start in the spring of 2015, in time for the Pan Am games, coming to Toronto next summer. It will offer a quick 25 minute ride from Pearson airport (Toronto's main airport) to downtown - a much better alternative than today's combination of long subway rides, or private bus service on the Airport Express.
I wouldn't let this stop a visit to Toronto anytime this year, however. Taxi ride is a quick 20 minutes, and for two or more people, similarly priced to taking that new train service or the Airport Express bus. Remember, the US dollar is worth almost 10% more than the Canadian dollar right now, so that $50 cab ride is only like $46 US.